Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Muslim-Jitsu

Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, found himself under attack last month when he announced he'd take his oath of office on the Koran -- especially from Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, who called it a threat to American values.

Yet the holy book at tomorrow's ceremony has an unassailably all-American provenance. We've learned that the new congressman -- in a savvy bit of political symbolism -- will hold the personal copy once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

"He wanted to use a Koran that was special," said Mark Dimunation, chief of the rare book and special collections division at the Library of Congress, who was contacted by the Minnesota Dem early in December....

Jefferson's copy is an English translation by George Sale published in the 1750s; it survived the 1851 fire that destroyed most of Jefferson's collection and has his customary initialing on the pages. This isn't the first historic book used for swearing-in ceremonies -- the Library has allowed VIPs to use rare Bibles for inaugurations and other special occasions.

Ellison will take the official oath of office along with the other incoming members in the House chamber, then use the Koran in his individual, ceremonial oath with new Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "Keith is paying respect not only to the founding fathers' belief in religious freedom but the Constitution itself," said Ellison spokesman Rick Jauert.

This is an absolutely brilliant use of political symbolism - good luck trying to paint someone as an unpatriotic terrorist infiltraitor when they're sworn in on Thomas Jefferson's Koran.

Good on ya, and Goode off ya, Mr. Ellison.

(P.S. Am I the only one who finds himself wondering if Jefferson's Koran has all references to Allah excised from it?)

My big question was, hypothetically, what would an Atheist swear on? I'm totally down with people from different faiths using their own holy books for official oaths. But what if someone doesn't HAVE a holy book, or if they're offended by the notion of swearing on one?

Thomas Jefferson, along with several of the other founding fathers, were probably deists, and not Christians. They may have gone to church to keep up appearances, but showed no signs of buying into Christianity in their writings. For the deists of that era, it was only the mysteries later accounted for by the theory of evolution that prevented them from being atheists.

Thomas Jefferson, along with several of the other founding fathers, were probably deists, and not Christians. They may have gone to church to keep up appearances, but showed no signs of buying into Christianity in their writings. For the deists of that era, it was only the mysteries later accounted for by the theory of evolution that prevented them from being atheists.

Yep, I know. Jefferson admired Jesus's New Testament moral teachings, but didn't have much use for the supernatural stuff.